Warning! H1N1 vaccine

[chrisw]

Well, I called Diana for more info. She called the father to get clarification. It was JUST the regular flu shot, but it did cause a bad exacerbation. SORRY!! But, I think this speaks to the issue of the fact that we don't always know how our kids will react. My son will not be getting any flu vaccines.

Christie

[Megs_Mom]

My husband was the only one that didn't contrat it. Swine flu did hit the United States before. I think in 1974 so some people may already have a natural immunity. My husband was born in 1969 so that might be why he didn't get it.

Hey - great news - finally some benefit from being one of the "oldies" here. I'm 1968! Here's hoping that gives an advantage!

[EAMom]

Well, I called Diana for more info. She called the father to get clarification. It was JUST the regular flu shot, but it did cause a bad exacerbation. SORRY!! But, I think this speaks to the issue of the fact that we don't always know how our kids will react. My son will not be getting any flu vaccines.

Christie

 

Okay, between this and my friend's experience with flumist...we're definitely staying away from the flu shot!

 

We were already not going to do the H1N1 shot since we already had it.

 

btw Are any grown-ups thinking of getting it for themselves??

[sf_mom]

Dr. Kovacevic said NO VACCINATIONs especially N1H1. Developed too quickly to understand long term impact..... I agree. I was thinking of getting the regular flu shot for my non-pandas children but now that I'm not sure of the status of my other son, I'm not doing any.

 

By the way, my PANDAS son annual check up has been the first week of June for the last two years in which standard vaccinations were given. His first cough/clearing of throat started in June 2008 and sudden onset of TICS/mild OCD end of June of 2009.

[thereishope]

Some people can have secondary problems due to the swine flu. My 8 yr old had a horrible, harsh cough that lasted quite awhile. I can see if someone had asthma, there being a lot of concern. Also, I think the congestion can go into the lungs and cause pneumonia. My 6 yr old and myself had the congestion. After 1 1/2 weeks, I still have congestion. So, for some it's not a big deal, for others it can be.

 

But then look at chicken pox. That's a required vaccine, yet a child can have chicken pox and recover fine like many of us did. In my state I don't think a second chicken pox is requied, but it if it is, my children will not be getting it. I'd rather them get chicken pox and have a lifetime immunity rather than getting a shot every 7 or 8 years then contract it as an adult when real complications can occur.

 

 

I have a really dumb question,...but....what is the big deal of someone gets the flu or even swine flu? Is that what these flu shots are for? so you don't get it? I can understand for elderly people, but... just saying. Am I wrong to think its no big deal?

 

Faith

[faith]

I agree. I had chicken pox as a child. no big deal. why is eveyone running like mad to get a flu shot? having the flu is fun.......people bring you tea and toast....

 

 

Faith

[ajcire]

I agree. I had chicken pox as a child. no big deal. why is eveyone running like mad to get a flu shot? having the flu is fun.......people bring you tea and toast....

 

 

Faith

 

 

Unless you are one of the ones that it affects badly of course... the news had a mother of a child very ill with h1n1 and he had no other known health issues... she said that she never thought she would be in the situation she is in now with her child although she still said that she knows that it what has happened to her child is not common and she said she still didn't know her feeling son the vaccines.

 

I guess I just have in the back of my head that what if one of my kids gets the flu and for some reason they are one of the bad case scenerios..... it sucks being the mommy sometimes. I really do worry about my little one with asthma.. how do I not get him the vaccine but how do I inject with something that nobody really knows much about. It just sucks.

[Megs_Mom]

I am getting the regular flu shot this afternoon - I get it every year, have forever, with no issues. I do this because I hate having the flu, work full time - and between the week off with my daughter and then the subsequent illness myself - it is way too much time off. I don't think I have been sick in any major way in the last 4-5 years. Occassional strep, which I treat immediately with Zith.

 

I did give my dd8 the regular flu shot for the last 2 years, to no apparant ill effect. In retrospect, I did look closely at timing of this and symptoms, but saw no pattern. Flu shot in November, PANDAS episodes in May with ear infection and friend with strep in 2008, then flu shot in November, PANDAS episode in April with Ear infection, another onset in May with friend with impetago. PANDAS episodes are intense OCD w/overnight onset.

 

We have not done immune testing yet, so I can't comment on her underlying system yet. I suspect that this may be a difference. I still don't really know what we are doing this year. I would never do the FluMist!

[kim]

Although I saw a dr. on tv the other day whose son was getting over the swine flu and he said he was vaccinating him anyway because he didn't have enough proof that his son would still be immune to it.

Erica, the tone of this post is in no way directed toward you. I heard a Dr. on Fox say that it was CRIMINAL not to get the H1N1 vaccine too. He didn't seem to have a problem with the story reported over and over a few months back about medical error being responsible for up to 200,000 deaths annually. sooo the remark you posted sent my blood pressure up a few notches. I was doing some scouting around on the 23 valent pneumonococcal vaccine this morning and was stunned at all of the articles on the low/no effecacy in ADULTS of that vaccine. I suspect there aren't good studies on kids because it isn't really routinely given to kids, or I just didn't find them, but I was surprised to see this stated in one study. bolding mine

 

http://www.rxmed.com/b.main/b2.pharmaceuti.../PNEUMOVAX.html

 

Because of an increased incidence and severity of adverse reactions among healthy adults revaccinated with pneumococcal vaccines at intervals under 3 years, routine revaccination with pneumococcal vaccine is not recommended. This was probably due to sustained high antibody levels. Also, persons who received the 14-valent vaccine should not be routinely revaccinated with the 23-valent vaccine, as increased coverage is modest and duration of protection is not well defined.

 

You show me where there is one study of the safety of giving H1N1 to a person who was recently infected. Anyone who knows anything about vaccines knows that the only way to build long lasting immunity is by catching the wild caught illness. Why does that fool think that any of us should believe that older people aren't getting this because they were exposed to this virus in the past? Or is that not it all? Is it that kids immune systems are more wrecked now than in older generations? Does anyone really know anything about what they're doing with these vaccines? Look at the post where the Dr. didn't know what strains were included in Prevn. and then couldn't come up with a vaccine insert! Seems they know very little about them, other than they better keep their rates of vaccinated kids up, or big brother is going to come down on them.

 

I want to leave two of the Pneum articles (excerpts) here too.

 

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pi...140673697073583

 

Findings

63 (19%) of 339 patients in the vaccine group and 57 (16%) of 352 patients in the placebo group developed a new pneumonia, corresponding to a relative risk over time for the placebo group compared with the vaccine group of 0·83 (95% CI 0·58–1·12, p=0·31). Pneumococcal pneumonia was diagnosed in 16 (4·5%) patients in the placebo group and in 19 (5·6%) in the vaccine group, corresponding to a relative risk for the placebo group of 0·78 (95% CI 0·40–1·51, p=0·45). We found no difference in the death rate between the two study groups.

 

Interpretation

The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine did not prevent pneumonia overall or pneumococcal pneumonia in middle-aged and elderly individuals

 

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/705172

 

Of particular importance was the lack of significant benefit for mortality, presumptive pneumonia, and all-cause pneumonia. Moreover, this analysis found little evidence of benefit to high-risk patients including elderly adults and those with chronic illness. The only groups that received substantial benefits were miners and soldiers

 

The data shown here do not refute benefit of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine but question the degree of benefit, especially in the target population

 

Here's one about the medical errors

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/deadby...ke/6669310.html

 

In August, a national Hearst investigation, ``Dead by Mistake,’’ concluded that up to 200,000 people per year die from medical errors and infections in the United States. It also pointed out that 10 years after a landmark federal study, “To Err Is Human,” first highlighted the problem, many of the solutions the study proposed have not been adopted. The entire Hearst report can be found at www.DeadbyMistake.com.

[michele]

I've posted on this here before. After my son had the flu shot when he was 4 he exploded in symptoms. Major OCD exacerbation. That was the worst his OCD ever was. Urinary frequency every couple minutes, touching the ground, tics and ADHD and emotional liability. After that and his kindergarten shots he was a mess. We went to the DAN! who did his labs and said his heavy metals were high and the yeast and he was full of mercury and other metals. That was when he started showing signs of being on the spectrum. Beware, these PANDAS kids don't do well with immunizations.

I'm pretty sure that dh and I both got H1N1 as well... dh at the same time the kids were sick and me a few days after everyone else. The symptoms were mild, a couple of days of fatigue (maybe some cough etc/I don't remember) but no high fevers like the kids. So, I do think some people can get H1N1 with minimal symptoms, and not necessarily know they have it.

[kim]

Don't you all find it a odd that none of us know for sure if our kids have had H1N1 or not? Is that a cooincidence? I mean, I can see where it's not feasible to swab and confirm every case from a $$ standpoint, but I'm going to be really interested to see how many kids with recent flu like illness are encouraged to get the vaccine when it becomes readily available. Again, if this were about health only, doesn't it seem that there would be some guidelines for giving this vaccine when it appears this virus has made it's rounds in most states? I think it's just a little convienent the "confirmed" cases are so low. They are closing schools in our area right now, due to high rates of students absent (didn't know how to spell absenteeism,lol,). Yet, no one is saying H1N1. Why?

 

Michele, for as angry as I am that my concerns about adverse (104 fevers rash etc.) events from vaccines being brushed off and not reported, this story was almost worse!

Between what's happening to some girls recieveing the HPV vaccine and what the young woman in this story is suffering, well, criminal is being applied to the wrong people when it comes to parents who do not feel that a vaccine is not in their childs best interest. Watch the video and keep in mind that this is being said about this young woman's symptoms.

 

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/10/vaccine...shot-story.html

 

excerpt:

A Dr. Vincour, from the U. of Maryland has called Ms. Jennings's symptoms, "psychogenic," which means originating in the mind, not in true physiological illness. In fact, they are going to use her case to teach students about crazy women who think a vaccine could injure them. Psychogenic is akin to the word, "hysteria" which comes from the Greek

word, "hyster" for uterus.

[thereishope]

My husband said he read an article saying one of the top people in the company that makes the H1N1 vaccine kept saying in an interview that they are having great profits this year because of the vaccine, but they can't guarantee next year's profits. That's all he talked about. no concern for people, just profits. You'd think someone from PR would be telling him the right thing to say.I swear the more I hear about H1N1, the more I believe the conspiracy theories.

[Suzan]

I decided to get the flu shot this year but I won't be giving it to my kids. I have given it one (maybe two?) years in the past, before I knew about vaccine trouble or PANDAS. I would like to go back and find out when they got it to see if I can link it back to any behavior. There was nothing obvious though. They have been wacky acting forever so sometimes it's hard to determine what might have made them wackier.

 

Susan

[Betty04]

This is a very difficult decision and I think there is not a right or wrong answer, just depends on your child's history. We are not getting the swine flu shot or the regular flu shot. My son had an explosive onset of tics after the routine flu shot 2 years ago before his 3rd birthday. He does have immune deficiencies so you could argue it is important for him to get the shot? Its impossible to know how he might react to the shot, we are basing our decision on a bad reaction 2 years ago and we have not vaccinated him since. However, he may have an exaccerbation of tics by catching the swine flu. So you might think we would be ahead of the game to vaccinate and at least avoid getting sick? I empathize with everyone's agony over this decision!

[mom md]

I did give my PANDAS child the regular flu shot and no issues so far. I am not planning on giving the H1N1 but I have to get it or I can't work. My other son had the dreaded H1N1 progressing to bacterial pneumonia and was severely sick and in the hospital for three days. I have to say as you sit in the hospital watching your child in critical condition with the flu, the vaccine seems like a good decision. My other two children had coughs and runny noses during this time but never got sick. My hope is that they were exposed and have some immunity. I agree, you can be damned if you do and damned if you don't! A very difficult decision. Dr. Latimer did say we were fine to get the regular one though.